JOB SEEKER BANKS ON A GOOD SIGN

Woman takes public stance, handing out cards at street corner

Approximate number of weeks it takes people to find work again, according to a March study. It was 5.2 in 2007.

A Tacoma, Wash., woman set on getting a full-time job in San Diego is taking to the downtown streets this week to try to snag an interview.

Laurel Durrett, 43, began her public job hunt Tuesday, hoisting a sign on the corner of Third Avenue and Broadway that read in part, “You want to hire me ... I want to work.” She plans to stand on the same downtown corner from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today and Thursday, handing out business cards.

Durrett said she left her last full-time job in marketing in May 2007 to freelance in communications and public relations. Her husband had been working as a salaried insurance agent but is now on commission only. Their 4-year-old daughter, Callia, is with relatives in Washington while Durrett searches in San Diego.

Durrett lived in San Diego from 1989 to 1994 and wants to come back, despite knowing that the cost of living is higher here.

She is staying with friends through April while she searches for work. She may also need May, if recent data are any indication. A March study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that it takes some people roughly 10 weeks to find a job, double what it did in 2007, before the recession hit.

“I heard something like 200 résumés in order to get an interview,” Durrett said, referring to the number of résumés people are sending.

Taking a public stance to get a job can’t hurt as long as the job seeker acts professionally, said Pam Wells, who directs the career center at Cal State San Marcos.

“You only need one job, and you don’t know where it’s going to come from,” Wells said. “Anything you can do in a professional way can yield some professional results.”

Durrett said she’d need to earn enough pay to support her daughter and her husband while he found his own job. She said she just wants an interview.

Durrett’s efforts seemed to be generally well received on Tuesday; she got mostly “good lucks” from people walking by. Stacy Foos, an Avon sales representative, even pulled over her van to talk to Durrett about selling beauty products.

“I like your style and your direct approach,” Foos told Durrett.

Another woman stopped by to tell Durrett to check openings at the cities of Imperial Beach and San Marcos. Another passer-by told Durrett that her job-hunting tactic was brilliant.

Durrett said the only interest she’s received so far has been from insurance companies looking for agents after finding her résumé on